The present invention relates to systems for generating electrical power by extracting energy from waves in shallow water that is usually near shore. The system uses panels or floats that are repeatedly pivoted back and forth to stretch and relax sheets of elastomeric material such as SSM (synthetic stretchable material), to thereby vary the voltage between electrodes lying at opposite faces of the sheet.
There have been recent developments of SSM (synthetic stretchable material) in the form of sheets of elastomeric material such as EAP (electro active polymers) which generates electricity when electrodes at opposite faces of the sheet contain opposite electrostatic charges and the distance between the faces changes, as when it is stretched (or possibly compressed). Such synthetic stretchable material is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,768,246 and 7,166,953 by Pelrine; U.S. Pat. No. 6,812,624 by Pei; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,038,357 by Goldenberg; and US publication 2001/0029401 by Ishido. Applicant provides systems for generating electricity from wave energy, using stretching and/or relaxing or compression of SSM.